Why in recent years has the European economy failed to keep pace with that of the United States? And why, as a result, has the unemployment rate been twice as bad? These three papers presented to Parliaments Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee at the beginning of 2000 suggest reasons and remedies. The first looks at the US performance, and concludes that Europe has lessons to learn at both the macro and micro level. The second re-examines the idea of boosting investment through large-scale infrastructure projects. And the third analyses how faster economic growth can best be translated into jobs.